The economic gloom caused a significant drop in US venture capital (VC) investment in clean technology firms in the first quarter of 2009, according to Ernst & Young.

Clean-tech firms raised $277 million in the first quarter of the year, down 63% compared to the same period last year, Ernst & Young said, based on data from Dow Jones Venture Source. The number of deals was also down by 48%, to 24 deals.

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Meanwhile, total VC investment in all sectors was down 50%, said the analysis firm's global research director for clean-tech, John de Yonge.

The drop is even more drastic when compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, when $994 million was invested in clean-tech firms by VCs, according to Ernst & Young.